Last days

I hate the saying " all good things must come to an end" but sadly, my time in new Zealand has. The last few days have been a whirlwind of adventure and amazing sights. Top on the list so far are a 45m Bungy jump off a bridge, a hike to view lake Wanaka, kayaking in Doubtful sound, eating the best burger at Fergburger in Queenstown, driving the Milford highway, seeing glacier carved valleys and amazing sunsets, seeing Mt.Cook reflected in lake matheson at sunrise, seeing the most stars I've ever seen, including the southern cross and the milky way! The list could go on. I am just in awe of the west coast and fiordland. I truly lucked out with weather. I'm sitting at the queenstown airport waiting for my flight to Wellington and am looking on with envy at the arriving passengers with their big packs and grins. But I will forever treasure my time here and have memories to keep me happy for a lifetime. I have a little less than 20 hours in Wellington before I begin the journey back to the states. I know some of that will be spent downloading my crazy amounts of pictures to my computer so I have backups, walking the city, and spending time with new friends! I can't wait to share my stories in person with you all, but feel free to tell me to shut up if I can't stop talking about new Zealand as I have a feeling I won't be able to :)

Windy roads and glacier walks

What a time the south island has been so far! I had a fantastic stay with Bonnie in Marahau and we did a great day hike in the Abel Tasman. Crystal blue ocean against golden beaches-can't beat it. Unfortunately the next day was quite rainy, and our excursion to see golden bay and Bonnie's favorite beach turned into a great day in the car! Lots of sheep and fog to be sure. Monday was gorgeous of course, and we got to go up and see a natural spring, as well as the view that I would have seen the previous day. A trip into Nelson had us visiting with her friends and a great pad Thai dish. She dropped me off at my hostel, and we said au revoir for the time being! It was great seeing a friend from the states here! My bus from Nelson to Greymouth was long, but a pretty ride. Saw some great forests, both for commercial logging and the natural bush. There were some windy crazy roads that the bus took at speeds that I would be uncomfortable with in a car! When we hit the west coast it was absolutely stunning. The Tasman sea rolls right onto the beach in ferocious waves. It was a lot more turquoise and blue in color than I thought it would be. My trusty camera snapping away photos, we stopped at punakaiki for the pancake rocks and blowholes which were quite cool. I had planned on going back there that night, but I wound up not wanting to do any more sitting in a vehicle for the day. It was another 30 minutes to Greymouth where I picked up my rental car! It's a silver quirky looking thing, but works just fine! I explored Greymouth for the rest of the afternoon and then went for short drive to get to the queen elizabeth walkway. I sat on some rocks and watched the waves crash for quite a while, before heading up into the bush for some views up and down the coast. The hostel had free soup for dinner, and had a party going on that night. I met some great people from all over, Israel. France, the netherlands, it's neat how traveling brings people together! Tuesday, I was off early to head down to franz Josef glacier/township. A stop off in Hokitita to view the beach some more before heading of to Hokitita gorge which was absolutely stunning. Turquoise waters and white rocks disappearing into the river. A swing bridge was fun and gave views of the farmland as well as the twists and turns of the river. Back in the car again, with a stop off at lake Ianthe for a bite to eat with a view! The day was thankfully gorgeous. Mre windy and misty roads took me further down the coast, with a turnoff to get to okarito which was well worth the extra kilometers. A steep hike up took me to a viewpoint where I could see the lagoon and the Tasman sea. Culd hear the waves crashing even from so high above! Had there not been some low lying clouds I could have seen the southern alps! I pretended. Merge beach time afterwards where the crashing waves were again amazing. Onwards to franz Jozef where I checked into my hostel, the glow worm cottages. In a room with 6 other people. Some free internet was a plus, as well as more free soup! I took a walk that gave me a view of the Glacier that I got on today! Despite the mist, it was quite stunning. Despite a bad sleep due to some loud snoring, I was up and ready to go for my glacier walk at 830. It was still on despite the downpour. Luckily ,they outfit you with good gear, though it was a bit smelly. A 2km walk to the glaciers edge, through rainforest and open valley before we put on our crampons to get on the ice. I was the only American in my group! Everyone else was from Europe! Being on the glacier was so cool. Periodically it would sound like the ocean surf and that was the ice below us melting. At one point you could see the ice falling and crashing down with a big boom, made me feel quite small in the world. We got to go through this really tight cavern, barely wider than your shoulders, and then haul ourselves up the ice wall before crawling through a cave. Quite the adventure. A big bummer was that there were tons of other groups on tours so we had to wait at times. But it did give me time to snap snap awga! Am nos up to 800 photos Over the past 5 days! I wish I could post them but I didn't bring my computer so I can't load then. I got free entry into the glacial hot pools which I took advantage of. A hot soak was definitely in order after the 4 hours hiking in the rain. However, an hour was plenty ,as I was about to turn into a prune! Back on the road to drive the 20km to fox glacier township where im spending the night. I drove up to fox glacier viewpoint but because of the rain I couldn't see much. The hostel im in is super nice. In a 5person room, so hopefully no snoring tonight! I make my way down to Wanaka tomorrow, with stops along the way. It's supposed to be a nice day so im hoping for a sunrise walk around lake Matheson to get some great views and reflections of the southern alps and mt. Cook. Oh, I forgot! Met people from Seattle yesterday. Crazy. They saw my uw sweatshirt and said they had to comment. Small world. Anyway ,that's it for now. Traveling around on my own is quite the adventure. I am so thankful for the experience tho and honestly ,the surrounding sights couldn't be better.

A farewell to Wellington and a hello to the South Island!

 I'm taking a small break from data analysis at my last day of my internship to say a hello to all and a goodbye to Wellington until the 22nd, when I spend a night before getting on a plane back to the States! To say Windy Welly is a great city is an understatement. Ive loved every minute of it, from the quirky Cuba St with it's fun bars and cafes, to the city's green belt, and the fantastic waterfront.



nifty umbrella




my favorite market



Old Wharf Offices



By the harbour



View from a park above the city



beach on my walk from work



the obligatory walking on the beach shot

And I'm off! A ferry ride tomorrow, followed by a bus ride gets me to Marahau/Abel Tasman National Park where I'm visiting with my friend Bonnie for a few days! Then it's off to Greymouth where I pick up my rental car and toodle my way down the west coast, stopping off at Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, Mt. Aspiring National Park, Wanaka, Queenstown, Doubtful Sound, Te Anau, Milford Road, and then a flight from Queenstown back to Wellington! Time will fly, I know, and I'm planning on using up every megabyte in my camera cards to document it!



my route!



Tongariro Alpine Crossing

This weekend was by far my favorite weekend here as of yet.

It all started on Thursday, when Natalie, Paige, and I picked up our rental car, and headed to Turangi, which is about 4.5 hours from Wellington. I was the driver, and was quite nervous to be driving on the left side of the road! Most nerve-racking were the roundabouts, and the city driving. Once we were on the highway it was ok. It is however, very easy to get distracted by the gorgeous scenery! 

It unfortunately rained for about 80% of the drive, and driving in rain is no fun. It seemed to be truck night, as I got stuck behind quite  a few massive semi's which were intimidating to pass. It got dark pretty quick, so I really had no idea what kind of countryside I was passing through. We arrived to our hostel a little past 11pm and quickly crashed in our bunk beds, with the plan to get up at 730 to drive to our starting point!

At 815 our hostel owner was giving us directions/hints to the trek. He suggested that we drive to the Mangatepopo car park and start the hike from there, which is where most people finish. We liked this idea as it was a shorter drive (it's $2.16 per litre, which is about $8 per gallon!), and the weather was better there to begin with. So off we went, with numbers to call for shuttles to pick us up at the other end to bring us back to our car!

We started first through native forest, and were accompanied by this rather rapid noisy stream. Birds were calling, and it was great to breath fresh non-city air. About an hour in we broke through the trees and got an amazing view of the valley below. At this point we could really feel the wind pick up, as we had previously been sheltered by the trees. 

We continued on up, for another 3 km to the hut, through tussock grass and a great trail. This was probably the hardest part of the trip. We could see the hut from a while away, and it seemed to take forever to get there. The wind was intense, but the view was well worth it all. Note- wearing cotton base layers is not good!. 

                                                      

The hut provided a brief break from the wind and a chance to break into my first PBJ of the day! Some chocolate covered peanuts rounded out the snack and I was raring to go on to the Emerald Lakes! 

The next bit was great. We started to see people coming from the other end, and got the chance to talk to them about the conditions ahead. Some nice Americans said it was quite windy, but not so much so that we would be blown off the mountain. Good to know!! Some women wished us luck- that's always encouraging to hear. The clouds started to move in and we got into this misty/magical scene as we continued on up the side of Mt. Tongariro. Other trampers would appear seemingly out of the mist which was quite cool. At some point, the mist got so thick that we couldn't really see what was ahead- thank goodness for the sign posts! After walking for a bit and wondering what was on either side of us, the clouds cleared briefly and sure enough, Blue Lake was to our left! It was crazy how it appeared out of nowhere.

                                        

                                                 

From here, we descended into Central Crater which had some awesome volcanic rocks. The slope slowly increased and we climbed up through the mist. Again, appearing out of nowhere, one of the Emerald Lakes came into view with a backdrop of some awesome cliffs!      

As we kept on climbing, it got more stunning. We reached the 2 other lakes and had a chance to get lunch by one of them. It was still crazy windy and we didn't want to stop for long and get chilled. 

The next bit after lunch was quite steep. Walking up a 40 degree incline on quite slippery volcanic soil is quite intense. I kept looking back to see the lakes and it was well worth it. At the top, at 1886m above sea level, were were officially on top of Red Crater. It was here that the wind was most intense and we had a narrow ridge to cross, with heart-clenching drops on either side. We all linked arms and headed on across and down. The clouds were still moving in and out and visibility was not the best.  As we started down Devil's Staircase, which was quite slippery due to the mist and rocks, the wind was thankfully at our fronts, and not "helping" us down the slope. 

Ater a bit we reached South Crater. It was like walking on the moon. Remote, flat, sparse, with lots of rocks and some tussock grass. It was eerie and awesome at the same time!  At this point it started raining, which wasn't a surprise, as the weather report had warned us so. A small incline to get out o the crater, before descending into more volcanic terrain. I've never seen anything like it and had just the most wonderful feeling seeing all these new sights.

                           

The saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe was amazing. The contrast between the black vocalic rock and the vegetation was fantastic. Hard and soft at the same time.  The black rocks were from the 1075 pyroclastic low rom Ngauruhoe and it was cool walking on history.  Mangatepopo valley was stunning. Green contrasted with black and red rocks, and the hardy white flowers that were blooming. 

Soda Springs was a gorgeous waterfall that look alike paradise. It ed into the stream that we allowed or the rest o the trek to the Mangatepopo car park. We didn't end up stopping at the hut due to time constraints, so we continued to book it down, with hopes to catch the bus that , according to our hostel host, would take us back to our car, but it was not to be so. We made it in time but no bus showed up. Long story short, and $30 per person later, we had been picked up by a bus and shuttled back to our car. Tired, wet, and hungry, I absolutely felt that I could conquer anything. A tramp that beats all tramps, this is one that i want to do at least one more time, as it would be a completely different experience which is so exciting. I'm proud that we made it in 7 hours, going the 'hard way'. New Zealand continues to amaze me. And honestly, a hot shower has never felt so good! 

The overdue photo post!

 

The Wellington Cable Car

 

Rockin' the work outfit. What you can't see are my awesome gumboots. *Those are tanks full of sea cucumber larvae behind me*

 

my fish chamber!



Huge ferns at the Wellington Botanic Garden

   

Wellington Botanic Garden.

 

View of Upper Hutt valley

 

Climbing trees is fun- on the Ridge Trail at Kaikoura Regional Park

 

On the way to Martinborough! *no I have not started to drink coffee*

 

The Wairarapa region


 

welcome to Martinborough



Grapes!




Wise words







Martinborough



sheep!




only the best cheese plate ever








this is what happens when you've gone to 4 wine tastings in a short period of time- you lie beneath a tree and are just wowed




Lavender at a winery




more grapes!





Wine Tours and Police Cars

Yet another eventful weekend! After an interesting work week- fish trials finally got underway and I am now running my own experiment!- I had Friday off and had decided with 2 friends to head up to the Martinborough region of the Wairarapa. An early morning train took about an hour to get to the Featherston Station where we were supposed to be able to catch a bus that would get us to Martinborough in about 20 minutes time. Well, we saw a bus that had a Martinborough sign on it, but it looked like a wine tour bus and there was no way we wanted to get roped into paying buckets of money for a wine tour when we were planning on just walking to and from on our own. So, we didn't get on the bus, thinking that the MetLink bus would show up for us. It didn't. Turned out the colorful small bus was the bus we needed, and the next bus wasn't going to do another pickup for another 5 hours. We walked into the town of Featherston (if you could call it that), and popped into the police station to see if they had any info. It was 930 in the morning and nothing was open. Turns out it would have been crazy expensive to get a cab, and our foolish thought of walking was quickly shot down when we learned that it was a 20 minute busride going 80km/hr with no stops, that would have taken us ages. Our savior came in the form of this lady cop who said that she would give us a ride, as she was heading in that direction anyways. So, bucket list check- ride in a cop car. Thought it would be a bit pushing my luck to ask for lights, but it was still quite a kick!

The Martinborough region is gorgeous. Farms and wineries. Sheep and cows. Long roads and ripe grapes. Cheese plates and olive oils. We did 4 tastings at 4 different wineries, and then got some food in our stomachs at the 5th, with a delicious plate of cheese, bread, jams, and nuts. An unsuccessful attempt to find the olive grove and shop lead to hilarious conversations down the long roads with the hot sun belting down. Luckily, my new motto when it comes to sunscreen is 'when in doubt, re-apply', so I successfuly did not get burnt! Maybe a few more freckles. We decided to forgo the 330 bus and catch the 830 one instead, so we had a delicious dinner in the town at the one of 3 available restaurants, and had gelato in a small park in the middle of town. We successfully caught the bus, now a big MetLink one, back to the station, and the train home. A great day.

Saturday found me above the city wandering in Central Park, overhearing the HomeGrown music festival from the waterfront, and pulling up a nice patch of grass and reading to my hearts content. Perfect escape, and combo of sun and wind. My weekly foray to the market on Sunday proved fruitful (pun intended), and I got some peaches that will hopefully not go bad before I get to them! Have put tons of photos on  my computer, but don't have the internet access at my place to upload them. At this rate I'm going to spend eons going through them when I get back! The new guy who lives next door to me is in the Hobbit- though when I asked a bunch of questions all his replies were 'I can't really say' though he did say he will be in the credits. And yes, he's quite short.

Well, its Monday and I'm off to start my duties of the day. A gorgeous morning- rare to be so calm, the bay is glassy- and I would prefer to be walking around outside. Maybe a lunchtime walk is in order.

Red Pandas and City Escapes

Greetings!

Last week of work went by quite quickly, being only a 3 day week. I have successfully put together this round chamber which will be put to the test this week with the fish and I will finally get to work with some data. I did get to go out onto the rafts and test my fish catching skills-- they are fast little buggers! I am now responsible for feeding 12 hapuku fish and running my experiments. No fish will be harmed thankfully! I also got to set up a whole new experiment involving fish waste and the resulting consumption of it by mussels (they have green lipped mussels down here which I've been told are very good). Now I get to the dorky science bit- analysis of the mussels stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures can provide information on what they eat (ie fish waste). The question posed in this experiment is to see how far a fish farm would have impact on the native mussel species. Farmed fish have different isotope signatures because they're being fed a different food than what they would be eating in the wild. So for this experiment, there will be 4 different 'groups' if you will of water coming into the system- one with seawater from the bay, unfiltered, one with seawater from the bay filtered, one from the fish tank holding the farmed hapuku, and one a mix of seawater from the farmed hapuku tank and the bay. - end dorky science bit. Should be interesting!

I got a chance to escape the city on Saturday to Kaitoke Regional Park which involved a train and bus ride to the Upper Hutt area, which is considered a suburb of Wellington. Lovely hiking- got to see the Hutt river, and hiked for about 3 hours along a ridge trail that overlooked the Hutt valley. Great trees here, plus some sheep, cows, creepy bugs, and great flowers! Very fun to get out of the city for a bit. Quite refreshing.

Friday I treated myself to a trip to Wellington Zoo and got to feed some red pandas! Cutest things ever. They get fed grapes/apples/bananas and go crazy for them. The cutest thing was when they squeeze the grapes slowly with their head thrown back so the juice drips down their throat. Their faces are so precious. And their paws....fuzzy on the bottom! Doesn't get better than that. They've got some sharp nails though thats for sure. I wanted to take one home so bad!

Having such a great time. miss you all! 

Windy Welly and the Sevens

Im currently on day 3 of a 4 day weekend! My internship runs Mon-Thursday, and it just so happens that this Monday is Waitangi day, so all the Kiwi's celebrate the signing of the Waitangi treaty. Waitangi Day.This translates to a smattering of festivals and free music down by the harbor, which will be a lot of fun! 

The Sevens happened this weekend and I'm not sure if there are words to describe it. Since rugby rules and plays go right over my head, I didn't get much out of watching the games. Lots of bars were streaming the games, and there was a huge TV screen out by the harbor. The highlight however, are the costumes. Think halloween but on crack. Heaps (I'm going to bring this word back with me, I love it) of people in costumes that run the gamut from doctors/nurses to one couple who was the old man and little boy from the movie Up! Guys dressed as girls in tight skimpy outfits, walking bananas, nuns, and some quite politically incorrect costumes! So, both Friday and Saturday were great people watching days to say the least. I went out with fellow interns on Friday night to participate in the revelry. We went to their equivalent of a dollar store and got suspenders and colorful socks and dork glasses to become "rubicks cube dorks". We're cool. It was a great time though- there are some wild and crazy Kiwi's!

The other day I had to walk into 117km/hr winds, which translates to about 70. If I was on a cliff I probably would have been blown away! It was fun until I walked by the sandy beach…

The farmers markets here are fantastic. I just got back from purchasing my fruits and veggies for the week. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is a delicious hole in the wall bakery directly across the street from the market who's aromas just beckon. I am now in possession of a dangerously good looking baguette -still warm- that will most likely not last very long. Now if only I had some cheese! Some things don't change no matter where you are…

Ive started to try and plan my South Island trip after my internship is over and have come to the realization that I need to be here much longer in order to do everything that I want to do! Time is already going by so fast, and I'm afraid it's just going to get faster.

And now for some photos! 

This is part of Zealandia- a big nature preserve

Friends

My walk to work! The white building is the lab

The start of my walk to work

Perfect spot

on the cliffs

Wellington

T